Anyone that works in competitive intelligence deals with tough questions. Sometimes they concern specific competitors. Other times there are challenging issues about important trends. Making sense of copious details can consume a CI professional’s time. These questions arise during the execution of our jobs. Answering them is tough and specific to the assignment.

However, a different set of questions can be more difficult to answer.

These questions are fundamental and overarching. They are unrelated to a specific analysis technique or task. Instead, people ask them to understand relationships, value and the possible impacts of competitive intelligence. They are especially relevant to establishing a competitive intelligence function in an organization or when entering an organization as a consultant. Without good answers, the competitive intelligence person is vulnerable to “side tracking.” Side tracking inhibits a CI person from delivering the value that they have to the client because they are unable to answer fundamental questions well.

Here are the 5 most difficult competitive intelligence questions and a possible answer to each.

After a quick “meet at my office” text message to Janet and Sam, Alice started walking back to her office.

Along the way, she thought about the meeting she had just finished with Bob. It fit the pattern that Alice had observed with so many clients for competitive intelligence.

First, they were wary about her group before tentatively showing some cautious curiosity. Then, like Bob, they seemed determined to make it clear that they were already doing everything possible to understand and beat the competition. Eventually, every manager asserted that no competitive intelligence group could do better! Finally, confronted by unanswered questions and undesirable results that they knew so well, a few asked for help.

Alice empathized with them. She saw the pressure that they endured and the earnest efforts to succeed. She knew that feeling “stuck” or unsure about how to proceed was an uncomfortable and vulnerable feeling. Over time, Alice had learned to listen calmly to the emotion. The “CI attacks” and challenges were not about her or her team. In fact, she learned to reframe them into a personal request for help. She knew that asking for help takes courage.